‘I don’t exactly have total freedom of movement, mother,’ I reminded her.

‘Whatever gave you that idea?’

‘I’m a slave, mother. I can’t just wander the streets as I please, can I?’

‘You’re missing the point, Pol. Gallak’s your owner, not your master. You’re property, not a slave.’

‘Is there a difference?’

‘There’s a world of difference, Pol. Your collar gives you absolute freedom, and it tells everybody that if anyone interferes with you, Gallak will have him killed. You’ve got more freedom here than you had as the Duchess of Erat. You can go anywhere you want to go, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Nadrak women have more freedom than any other females in the whole world – except for wolves, of course.’

‘What a fascinating concept.’

Despite the fact that he was only fifteen or so at the time, Yarblek was already well-known in Yar Nadrak. Well-known or not, Yarblek was a little hard to find, and my search for him led me into the seedier parts of town. Evidently, word of the incident at the city gate had gotten around, because all manner of evil-looking scoundrels went out of their way to stay out of mine. Obviously, my description had accompanied those stories, so the rascals of Yar Nadrak knew me on sight. It’s hard to get information when nobody wants to talk to you, though, so I picked one scruffy fellow and pointed my finger at him. ‘You,’ I said peremptorily, ‘come here.’

‘I didn’t do anything,’ he protested.

‘I didn’t say you had. Come here.’

‘Do I have to?’

‘Yes.’ I pointed at the street in front of me. ‘Here,’ I instructed. ‘Now.’

‘Yes, Polanna. At once.’ He almost ran across the street, and when he stopped where I’d indicated, he carefully put his hands behind his back to avoid any mistakes.

‘I’m looking for a young fellow named Yarblek. Do you know him?’

‘Everybody knows Yarblek, Polanna.’

‘Good. Where can I find him?’

‘He usually spends his time in the Rat’s Nest – that’s a tavern over near the east gate. If he’s not there, the tavern-keeper should know where you can find him.’

‘Thank you. See? That didn’t hurt at all, did it?’

‘I don’t seem to be bleeding from anyplace – yet.’ Then his eyes grew curious. ‘Did you really cut that gate-guard’s head off with those saws you carry instead of knives?’

‘Of course not. All I did was nick him a little.’

‘I sort of thought it might have been an exaggeration. You don’t seem all that blood-thirsty to me.’ Then he winked at me. ‘I won’t tell anybody, though. You’ve got the whole thieves’ quarter terrorized, and I just love to see all those rascals quaking in their boots.’

‘You’re a nice boy,’ I told him, patting his cheek. Then I went on down the muddy street toward the east gate of the city.

The Rat’s Nest tavern was aptly named. It was draped with cobwebs and the floor needed shoveling more than sweeping. I marched up to the wobbly, scarred counter. ‘Which one of these drunken sots is Yarblek?’ I demanded of the fellow on the other side of the counter.

‘That’s him over there in the comer – the young fellow who’s still trying to sleep off what he drank last night. Are you going to kill him?’

‘Whatever gave you that idea?’

‘You’re the one they call Polanna, aren’t you? The word’s out that you kill people just for looking at you.’

‘Nonsense. I haven’t killed a single person yet today – so far. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go over and have a few words with Yarblek.’

It didn’t take much to wake Yarblek – a single creaky board, actually. His hand flashed to his dagger-hilt before he even got his eyes open. Then he looked at me boldly. ‘Have a seat, Dearie,’ he invited, pushing out a stool with one foot. ‘You’re new here, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. Would you like to have me buy you something to drink?’

‘Aren’t you a little young to be frequenting taverns, Master Yarblek?’ I asked, sitting down on the stool he’d offered.

‘I’ve never been young, Dearie,’ he boasted. ‘I was all grown up the day I was bom. ‘I was weaned on strong beer, and I killed my first man when I was seven.’ And he went on – and on and on – boasting about how much he could drink, how many men he’d killed, and how no woman could resist his charms. His expression and his quick, easy laughter suggested that he didn’t really expect me to believe all his lies, but rather that he was simply trying to entertain me. All in all, I found him to be a shabby, boastful adolescent, but I picked up a few hints that he was much shrewder than he appeared to be on the surface, and I felt fairly confident that if he didn’t make any serious blunders, he might actually live long enough to reach adulthood, and that if he did, he’d be up to whatever it was that he was supposed to do.

I’ll admit that the possibility that he’d eventually go into business with Prince Kheldar and become one of the richest men in the world never even occurred to me.

After a while, I grew tired of all his bragging. ‘You look tired, Yarblek,’ I suggested.

‘Never too tired to talk with a beautiful woman,’ he said. Then his eyes drooped shut and he started to snore.

It probably wasn’t necessary, given his condition, but just to be on the safe side, I erased his memory of our meeting – and that of the man behind the counter as well.

‘Mother,’ I sent out my thought as I left the Rat’s Nest.

‘Yes, Pol?’

‘I found Yarblek. He’s quite young, but he shows a lot of promise – if he lives.’

‘I have it on very good authority that he will, Pol. Can we trust him?’

‘We probably shouldn’t, but I get the feeling that we can.’

‘We’ll be here for quite a while. You can look in on him from time to time and see how he’s coming along.’

‘Who’s the other one I have to meet?’

‘The new king, Drosta lek Thun.’

‘How new?’

‘He was crowned in 5342. He’s about twenty or so now.’

‘We’re expecting help from the king of an Angarak nation?’